Secularism constitutional, moral commitment for BJP: Naqvi

Inaugurating the BJP's Minority Morcha national executive, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said secularism is the constitutional and moral commitment for the BJP but the “pseudo-secular syndicate” has misused it as a “vote-catching tool”.

New Delhi:Senior BJP leader and Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday took a swipe at opposition parties and said they treat secularism as their “political proprietorship” to “deceit” its constitutional essence.

Inaugurating the BJP's Minority Morcha national executive, he said secularism is the constitutional and moral commitment for the BJP but the “pseudo-secular syndicate” has misused it as a “vote-catching tool”.

He also cited figures to assert that a large number of minorities have benefitted from the Modi government's welfare policies, like building houses for the poor, free cooking gas connections and cash transfers to farmers.

Attacking the Congress, he alleged that since independence "political merchants of minority votes” have played tricks to dupe the minorities and conspired to grab their votes by creating an atmosphere of fear, raising the bogey of intolerance, spinning a web of religion and spreading rumours, according to a statement.

He said the Modi government is committed to “sabka sath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayas” to ensure development with dignity of all sections, including the minorities.

"The pseudo-political champions of secularism deliberately neglected the socio-economic-educational empowerment of minorities. Political parties which enjoyed power for the maximum time in the country adopted the path of divide and rule by using secularism for their political convenience," Naqvi alleged.

He said opposition parties have treated secularism as their “political proprietorship” to “deceit” the constitutional essence of secularism.

Minorities have to be remain cautious of the parties wearing the "veil of secularism” while peddling conspiracies, he said, claiming that they have now understood the reality and supporting the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP's policies.

The BJP believes in "development with dignity” and “development without discrimination”, he said.

The government during the last seven years has worked for inclusive empowerment with commitment to constitutional values and has ensured all the sections of society become equal partner in development process, Naqvi said.

The Modi government's Inclusive development has finished off “appeasement politics”, he claimed.

He said "historic" steps taken by the Modi government to ensure progress and prosperity of minorities include employment and employment opportunities to more than 5.50 lakh artisans, craftsmen through “hunar haat”, scholarships to more than five crore minority students and decrease in school drop-out rate among Muslim girls from 70 percent to about 30 percent.

Out of over two crore people who benefitted from the Modi government's housing project, 31 percent are minorities, while 33 percent of 12 crore farmers “Kisan Samman Nidhi” are also minorities, he said.

Nearly 37 percent of eight crore “Ujjwala Yojana” beneficiaries are minority women, he added.

PTI